Our Victories

Payday loans at banks like Wells Fargo are on their way out the door

NPA has been leading in the fight against payday loans – not just the ones from the corner store, but those made directly by big banks. We found that these “direct deposit advance” loans target senior citizens and their social security checks, and charge over 300% interest.

There is no excuse for these predatory products, and in the summer of 2013, two of the federal bank regulators agreed with us. Because of NPA’s organizing, they released regulations that will essentially shut down high-interest big bank payday lending at the banks they oversee. As a result of our work, senior citizens, people with disabilities and our communities as a whole will be more secure.

A fresh start for homeowners is on the way at FHFA

The Federal Housing Finance Administration regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the companies that control more than half of all home mortgages in America. With millions of Americans struggling with underwater mortgages, acting FHFA director Ed DeMarco has stood by and done nothing while our communities drown in foreclosure.

NPA wouldn’t stand for it, and pushed for the nomination of his replacement. Under pressure from NPA and our allies at New Bottom Line, President Obama nominated Mel Watt to replace Ed DeMarco as head of the FHFA in May. Watt is highly qualified to lead FHFA and will put families and communities first.

NPA continues to lead the fight for Watt’s confirmation.

The fight for new leadership at FHFA is just the latest chapter in NPA's long history of fighting for justice for homeowners in our communities.

More revenue from the wealthiest 1% will help support jobs and needed services

At the end of 2012, the country was headed toward the so-called “fiscal cliff,” a crisis invented by elected officials who refused to believe that the richest country in the world had the resources to take care of its own.

NPA knew where the money was – in the pockets of Wall Street, big corporations, and the 1%. We were proud to be part of a broad fight with labor and community allies to focus on how corporations and the wealthy are benefitting from an unfair tax system full of tax breaks and kick backs. It’s hurting our economy, and everyday Americans have had it with picking up their tab.

We engaged our Congress members in key states, took online action and gathered thousands of petition signatures, and led street action mobilizations to call for the wealthy to pay their fair share NOT cuts

The result of the coalition efforts? $625 billion in new revenue. We’re glad to have played our part.

We’re building on 40 years of fighting for our communities!

At National People’s Action (NPA), we’ve been organizing to make our democracy work for families, communities, and taxpayers for the past 40 years.

Since the beginning — when a group of us started meeting in a church basement in Chicago — NPA has been fighting for the 99 percent in our neighborhoods, schools, and statehouses. And we’ve never been afraid to take the fight all the way to Washington DC.

Early on, we spearheaded a campaign to bring greater transparency to mortgage lending and won a major victory for our communities with the passage of the Federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act in 1975. The law helped prove what people in our neighborhoods already knew; banks were redlining and denying loans to people based on their race and where they lived, regardless of their credit worthiness. With the data behind us, NPA led the way to outlaw redlining with the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act in 1977.

Today, we’re building on these victories and lessons from the past to put a stop to predatory lending, prevent foreclosures, make corporations pay their fair share, and win an immigration system that keeps our families and communities safe.